Odisha youth rapes stepmother after killing father, held

JAJPUR:  In a shocking incident, a youth allegedly raped his stepmother after killing his father in Champajhar village under Tomka police limits in Jajpur district on Sunday. The accused Lugu Hembrum (20) was arrested on Monday from a nearby village.

The incident, suspected to be the fallout of a family dispute, took place late on Sunday, police said. The deceased has been identified as 65-year-old Sadai Hembram. According to reports, Lugu, the son of Sadai Hembram eked a living as a daily wager. He used to stay in another village, as his stepmother reportedly had quarrels with him regularly and did not allow him to stay with them in Champajhar village.

On Sunday night, when Lugu reached his father’s place, his stepmother reportedly picked up a fight with him. As the quarrel took an ugly turn, his father interfered in support of his wife. Angry,  Lugu allegedly hacked his father to death with a sharp weapon.  

He then raped his 50-year-old stepmother and fled the spot soon after. The rape survivor lodged a complaint with Tomka police on Monday alleging that she was raped by her stepson who also killed his father on Sunday night.

Based on the complaint, police registered a case and started investigation into the incident. Police seized the body and sent it to the hospital for postmortem. Getting a tip off, police nabbed the accused on Monday. Medical examinations have been conducted on the accused and the survivor, police added.

X“We are interrogating him to extract the cause behind the crime. We suspect a family dispute that led to enmity between the accused and his stepmother as she used to restrict him to stay with his father at their home,” said S K Patra, IIC Tomka police station. The accused will be forwarded to the court on Tuesday, he said.